Reid Pitman helped lead the Vipers over Marble Falls with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, and drew a charge.

Nobody works harder than Reid Pitman on a basketball court.  Reid Pitman is a physical player who loves to get the dirty work done by locking down his opponent on defense, playing help side defense, and believing that every single rebound can be his.

Reid’s work ethic is a model for all the players in our training gym.  Reid was a role player on his middle school “B” team last year but has propelled himself into the starting lineup for his freshman “A” team at Vandegrift.  What an accomplishment!  More importantly, he  plays a ton of minutes and is a big time rebounder in Austin high school basketball.  Reid can also run the floor well and is working diligently on producing a consistent outside shot.  Since he has one of the best follow thrus around we are confident he will have a consistent three point shot next fall for the Vipers so he can play inside out as needed.

Mariana Saitas scored a spectacular and efficient 20 points with 5 steals, 2 forced jump balls and 2 rebounds.  Additionally, Mari had no turnovers.  I witnessed this game first hand and I can tell you it was the most efficient game I have seen from a young lady this season.  I had a chance to speak with Mari’s coach Chico Vasquez who commented on how he liked what an aggressive player Mari had become.

Mari is one of the more fundamentally sound players that trains with Austin Youth Basketball.  She has an uncanny ability to cause jump balls which often result in an extra 3-4 possessions per game for her team.  This proved pivotal in a close victory over arch rival St. Austin where she caused 5 jump balls in a defensive battle that ended at 18 – 16.

Next steps for Mari in her basketball training is magnifying her strength as a catch and shoot player.   We are refining her follow thru and gaining consistency.    Mari has already mastered “ready on the catch” footwork and sweeps out & drives against opponents who close out on her.

Austin high school basketball is in for a treat when Mari Saitas arrives on the scene next year.

Freshman Evan Underbrink dropped 14 points in her freshman game last week for Austin High School Basketball.  She also had 4 blocked shots.  When asked how many rebounds she notched:  “Lots!”

Evan has only been playing the game for a couple of years and is a fierce competitor who is showing great promise as a shot blocker in addition to being the rare post player who can run the floor and finish strong due to her excellent hands and commitment to becoming a vertical player.  Evan struggled with a consistent set point and follow thru on her shot but this picture proves her hard work in training with us is paying off.   I love the elevation, balance, focus with the eyes, and follow thru with the elbow above the eyebrow and back of hand facing the rim.  Perfect!!  Nice work Evan.

Evan is also a thespian and another mom in our gym once called her “Moonbeams and Sunshine” because of the positive effect she has on others around her.

Congratulations Evan!